The head of world athletics "has admitted the sport faces 'a crisis' over allegations of doping by Russian competitors," according to Dan Roan of the BBC.
IAAF President Lamine Diack: "It's a difficult crisis but we will put it behind us by cleaning all this."
In December, a German TV documentary claimed Russian officials "systematically accepted payment from athletes to supply banned substances and cover up tests."
In his first broadcast interview since the allegations were made public, Diack said that "he was 'shocked' and 'disturbed' when he first heard the claims."
But the 81-year-old Senegalese official insisted allegations that 99% of Russian athletes are doping were "a joke" and "ridiculous." German TV station WDR broadcast three documentaries alleging that IAAF officials were implicated in covering up doping in Russia.
Those claims "are now being examined by the IAAF's ethics commission."
But Diack "denied knowledge of any cover-up." Diack:
"I'm convinced I know my department. I know how they work very, very hard about the fight against doping, and I didn't see any reason to make a cover-up of a doping case" (BBC, 2/16).
